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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24508465">say what you wanna say (let the words fall out)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinanotherworld24/pseuds/lostinanotherworld24'>lostinanotherworld24</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Clay Spenser: A Study in Dumbass [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEAL Team (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Background - Freeform, Brian and Clay Friendship, Clay Spenser Whump, Fist Fights, Gen, Hospitalization, Pre-Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:48:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24508465</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinanotherworld24/pseuds/lostinanotherworld24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Three times Clay's big mouth gets him into trouble, and one time he manages to drag Brian along for the ride as well.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Clay Spenser: A Study in Dumbass [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1777708</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>86</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>say what you wanna say (let the words fall out)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you for reading, and don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom letting me know what you thought! Hope you enjoy! </p><p>*The first story was actually taken from this Reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/2lx61f/military_veterans_of_reddit_what_are_your_best/, and I thought it was too good to not use in a story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The first time Brian Armstrong realizes Clay Spenser is kind of a mouthy dumbass is when they’re in boot camp, doing yet another ruck march. They’re not difficult, just boring as shit, and Brian passes the time reciting his favorite books over and over. He manages to stay with it enough that he never gets called on for not paying attention while dissociating enough to stave off the boredom. It’s a delicate balance that somehow works. </span>
</p><p> <span>Of course, Brian knows who Clay is, a few other guys having taken it upon themselves to inform him of exactly </span><em><span>who </span></em><span>he was bunking with. To be honest, Brian didn’t really give a fuck. Brian’s dad was a junkie who’d died before Brian turned two, and yet that didn’t mean he was spending time shoving poison into his veins. He didn’t want to be judged on his parentage and refused to do that to anyone else. </span></p><p>
  <span> During the ruck marches, the drill sergeants made a habit of randomly selecting people and checking their packs to ensure they were packed correctly. It’s no surprise to anyone that Clay ends up getting picked, but what is surprising is the revelation that he has the bare minimum of items. If there had been any less he might as well have carried a plastic bag. </span>
</p><p> <span>DS Anderson shoves himself into Clay’s personal space, starts screaming about </span><em><span>what the fuck do you think you’re doing private? Think you can be like your daddy, and not carry the weight of your squad and your platoon?</span></em></p><p> <span>A fast smirk slides over Clay’s face as he stares just slightly to the left of Anderson and says, “I didn’t think it was fair to have to carry extra weight when I’m already carrying this 60-pound dick.” </span></p><p> <span> Brian doesn’t know how the hell he restrains his laughter, but it’s damn close. </span></p><p>
  <span>XXX </span>
</p><p> <span>The second time comes after boot camp when they’ve been granted a few days of liberty to just fuck around and do whatever. Most of the guys they graduated with insist on getting mind-numbingly wasted, and invite Clay and Brian to a beach bonfire. Brian goes because he has nothing better to do, and figures it won’t be that bad to spend a few hours socializing and having a few beers. </span></p><p> <span>He’s in a low-slung beach chair chatting with Rameriez, a third-generation Navy guy intent on becoming a commander. The alcohol has kicked in enough that he’s starting to feel a little flushed in the face, but not enough that his senses are totally dulled. Maybe that’s why he’s one of the first ones to sense trouble brewing between Spenser and Torres, a guy with more brawn than brain. Brian groans internally, because Clay is just enough of a dumbass to run his mouth till he gets his shit rocked, and Brian </span><em><span>does not </span></em><span>want to lose whatever liberty they have left. </span></p><p> <span> He’s just gotten up to go over and get in between them when Torres decides he's done talking and takes a swing at Clay. The punch is ducked easily enough, and Clay spears him, before entangling him in a double leg-lock or some shit. Torres attempts to grab a fistful of hair, but their Navy-mandated buzzcuts ensure he grabs nothing but air. A few guys have gotten it together enough to pull them apart, and Brian makes his way over just in time to hear someone say, “We good?” </span></p><p> <span>A glint streaks through Clay’s eyes and Brian barely finishes his internal groan before Clay says, “Yeah, we’re good. I mean, if he has no problem with the fact that every time he fucks his girlfriend, she’ll be thinking about me.” </span></p><p> <span>Clay gets hit hard enough that he almost loses a few teeth. </span></p><p>
  <span>XXXX </span>
</p><p>
  <span>  Over the years their paths keep merging, and they somehow end up becoming best friends. Along the way, Brian recognizes that Clay uses his mouth as a defensive tactic, a way to ensure that others realize he’s nothing like his father. He wants them to know he has so much more grit and fight than they’d initially assume, and that he won’t let them doubt him for long. It’s both ulcer-inducing and completely awe-inspiring, and Brian can’t help but be drawn to it. </span>
</p><p> <span>He does his part and helps to pare down some of that recklessness, tries to reign the kid in as best he can. The success rate is half-and-half because there are some fights that Clay just won’t back down from, no matter who’s involved or who’s watching. His pride is almost as big as his heart, and he won’t suffer insult to either of them. It’s his best and worst quality, but most days just makes Brian want to scream. </span></p><p> <span> One fight that Clay apparently can’t resist comes one sunny September day when he and his unit have just gotten back on base after a tough mission. The base is one of the larger ones in the Middle East, resulting in a ton of different units being stationed there, all involved in different things. </span></p><p>
  <span> As Brian will later hear it, Clay was minding his business and walking back towards their barracks, when a SEAL from a Tier-One unit made a crack about the wonder squad being in town. Clay wouldn't let that slide and let the guy know exactly what he thought of his comment. The guy had responded to Clay’s obvious challenge, and gotten in his face. </span>
</p><p> <span>It took four guys to pull them apart. </span></p><p> <span>Clay lifts the ice pack covering his face and shoots Brian a grin, white teeth shining against his dark bruises. </span></p><p>
  <span> “You should’ve seen the other guy,” Clay slurs around his puffy lip, reopening some of the barely-healed scabs. He softly curses as blood starts to dribble down his chin again, and fumbles through swollen eyes for the washcloth Brian had so graciously brought him. After a minute of watching his clumsy searching, Brian has mercy and passes it over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> “One day, you are going to get yourself</span>
  <em>
    <span> murdered. </span>
  </em>
  <span>And I’m going to be there to watch. And laugh. Loudly.”</span>
</p><p> <span>Clay laughs and resettles the ice pack on his face, sighing a moment later. </span></p><p> <span>Brian just prays for patience. </span></p><p>
  <span>XXXX</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The mission was supposed to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>easy, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Brian thinks with more than mild disgust. They were just there to do some recon, weren’t even supposed to fire their guns. It took all of two minutes for that plan to go entirely to shit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Waves of hostiles had started pouring in from nowhere, and their meager four-man unit was quickly overrun. Last Brian saw, Ricotta had suffered a gunshot to the arm, while Hernandez had been knocked out in very short order. Spenser and he had been taken alive and conscious, thankfully, although Brian couldn’t be sure of why.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An hour in and Brian almost wishes Clay had been knocked unconscious. At least then he wouldn’t have to listen to fucking motor-mouth blab on about his childhood, the time he got into a car crash when he was 17, and what he plans to eat for dinner. At that last comment, Brian wants to snort, because Clay couldn’t have found a lobster tail with both hands and a flashlight. His best friend may be many things, but a connoisseur of fine dining was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>one of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, he can’t say he’s not thankful for Clay distracting the guards, because that’s given him plenty of time to work on undoing his ropes. From the look Clay shoots him, Brian’s pretty sure that was the plan all along and readies himself for the next stage of Operation Getting the Fuck Out of Here, which is for Clay to lure the guards in there, at which point Brian will jump forwards, beat them silly, and then they find and rescue the other two guys.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only, that’s not exactly how things play out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brian’s ropes are coiled on the floor behind him, and Clay has started to yell out insults to get the guards in the room. And..nothing happens. Nothing. The air has gone completely still and silent, devoid of any sound of footsteps or voices. They share a confused look before Brian cautiously shoves himself up and creeps towards the door, pushing it open just a hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Into a completely deserted hallway. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He motions Clay forward, and together they clear the whole house until they get to the front door. At this point Brian’s completely puzzled, but also strangely on-edge, like when he’s watching a horror movie and just </span>
  <em>
    <span>knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>a jump-scare’s coming. Clay’s practically thrumming with tension, and yet opens the door anyway, only to be greeted by an earth-shaking boom and a wall of fire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, darkness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brian comes to in a hospital, mouth so dry it feels coated with cotton. His vision is blurry and distorted, and it takes a couple of good blinks before he can see. He discovers Clay in the bed next to him, dead to the world, and their commanding officer in a chair between them. McPherson’s thumbing through a magazine but sits up straighter once he notices Brian’s watching. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened?” He wonders, a spike of pain shooting down behind his left eye. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You and Spenser here were just collateral damage, while Hernandez and Ricotta were the real targets. Apparently, some tangoes caught wind that Hernandez’s old man is big in oil or some shit, thought they could capture him for a ransom. Ricotta comes from old money as well, and the idea of that payoff was enough for them to feed us false intel. While Chatty Cathy over here was running his mouth, they got them out of the house and then left the front door rigged. Pretty ingenious, if you ask me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brian laughs, a little humorlessly. It’s the closest he’s ever come, and he’s a little wigged out. To think they might have been stupid enough to cause their deaths doesn’t sit right with him, raises that old fear that he might not be SEAL material. And he can’t imagine being anything else, even within the Navy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be too hard on yourself, son,” McPherson says. “Clay’s already given me a full debrief, told me how the whole thing was his idea.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brian shakes his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sir, it was both of our ideas. We worked together to get out of the room, cleared the house together, went through the door together. Mission failure was just as much my fault as it is his, and that is something I will stand by.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>McPherson studies him for a moment, wearing a completely unreadable expression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t ever worry you’re not cut out to be a SEAL, Armstrong. Half of it is physical strength, but the other half is mental. You’ve got the mental in spades,” With that, McPherson stands and leaves, lets the door shut softly behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Brian blinks, and nods, more than a little dazed. He sits quietly for a while, lets McPherson’s words run through his head like a broken record. It’s the best compliment he’s ever been given, and he never wants to forget this moment. Not even Clay waking up and loudly demanding coffee can ruin it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Although Brian does throw a book at him, when Clay starts loftily informing the nurses that he went through the door first, and therefore took the brunt of the explosion, making </span>
  <em>
    <span>him </span>
  </em>
  <span>the hero of the day. It’s a complete lie, and Brian’s 98% sure Clay’s just saying it to pull Brian out of his head. This is appreciated, but it also makes Brian wonder where he can buy duct tape and superglue. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just for future reference. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  
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